A Rose By Another Name
by Hearts Aria Productions
Summary: Never had any parents, never had any luck, and never had anyone love him. Mello's everything starts to change with his encounter of a girl with a name like Kira and a tattoo of a cross on her back.
1. Chapter 1

It was a boring night at the bar and hardly any people had come in.

Midterms were around the corner and everyone was probably studying, as you should be too, if not for this late side job.

You sighed and continued to make the glasses sparkle. The door opened and you were greeted by a bunch of rowdy boys.

"What would you guys like? Everyone started clamoring for drinks and stealing your attention that you couldn't even attend to the new stranger who had taken a seat at the bar.

"So what would you like tonight?" you asked the last rowdy person.

He smirked and grabbed your arm "How about some of you?"

you yanked your arm back "Sorry, not an option." but he was already drunk or something, he refused to take no for an answer

He tried again, grabbing your other wrist. "When I want something, I want something." he chuckled.

"Your not getting it this time, let go of me." He tightened his grip on your arm

You closed your eyes and braced the pain, but the pain only eased up.

You opened your eyes slowly and saw that the stranger at the other end of the bar had intervened.

You slowly pulled your own hand away.

"Are you okay?" the stranger asked.

You nodded and he turned back to the thug

"Get out of my sight."

You heard a crack, the sound of his wrist snapping, the thug screamed in pain, and he started running for the door followed by the rest of his gang.

The stranger took a seat in front of you, and examined you with his blue eyes, while you checked him out too.

He had blonde hair and bangs that almost hid his eyes. He wore a black leather vest with rosary beads. Although he was skinny, you could see that his arms were muscular.

He was clean, with no tattoos or piercing, but he had a bad boy vibe about him.

Whoever he was, he instantly caught your attention.

"Hope they didn't hurt you, what a bunch of assholes."

"Don't worry about it, you get used to it. I see guys like those every night." you passed him a drink

"How do you handle that every night?" he asked.

you shrugged "when I m lucky, nice guys like you will help me, but when I m not, then I just kick their asses."

He laughed "You?"

"I m not as defenseless as I look, I beat up my share of losers back in the day." he continued to laugh

As you reached up a high shelf for a special wine, you felt the strangers eyes on you. You felt a breeze around your midsection and turned around, pulling your shirt down.

"So I guess you saw that." referring to the tattoo of a cross on your lower back.

He smirked "Bar tending, fighting, tattoos? I guess that innocent face isn't so innocent after all."

You smirked and leaned over the bar "What can I say? I m a bad girl."

He leaned forward "I've never met anyone like you, what s your name?"

"Kaori Shirane. Bartender and student, nice to meet you." you stuck out your hand for a handshake.

"Just Mello." he shook your hand, you held onto his hand and stared into his blue eyes.

You guess, it was kind of a moment there, but then your manager interrupted. "Kaori, your shift just ended, you can go home now."

You snapped out of it and let go of Mello's hand.

"Guess I'm off now, but come back and see me sometime." he nodded, and you really hoped he meant it because you would have loved to spend some more time with Mello.

You got your stuff and were ready to go home, by now the buses had stop service and you would have to walk home.

You wrapped a scarf around your neck as you walked outside, as you breathed out, you saw your breath.

"What a cold night .

You turned, surprised to see Mello standing next to you. "Its late, how about I give you a ride home?"

You didn't hesitate and grabbed his arm, but little did you realize that his ride was a motorcycle.

Without asking, he draped his jacket over your shoulders and wrapped your scarf tighter around your neck. "Stay warm, and hang on tight."

He climbed on his bike and you straddled it behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist.

The roar of the engine and the comforting wind through your hair almost put you to sleep, but when you laid your cheek on Mello's arm, it was cold as ice.

"I'm sorry I took your jacket."

"Don't worry about it, it wouldn't be very gentlemen-like of me to leave a lady in the cold."

But still, you felt bad, you scooted closer behind Mello and wound your arms tighter around him, up his chest, and laid your cheek against his shoulder so even if a little, he could feel warmer.

Your apartment you rented wasn't far from where you worked and you got home faster then usual.

As you pulled up you noticed your land lady moving luggage outside.

She chucked the suitcases out of her hand and they landed on the sidewalk and opened on the streets, spilling out all your stuff.

"What are you doing?" your land lady paused before she went back in.

"you haven't paid your rent for six months now, I can't just keep letting this go on, its not fair for the other tenants."

"I know and I'm sorry but I'm so close to getting my degree! Just let me stay for a while until I can get my degree and a job and I'll pay you back with interest." you pleaded desperately

"Kaori, I already sold the apartment to another person, someone who can pay the rent every month."

"Please reconsider! I'm already trying the best I can with my job."

She looked sorry enough, but she sighed and patted you on the shoulder "Take care Kaori."

Then she went back into the apartments and locked the gate behind her.

You sat down on the cold street and started throwing things in your bags. When every item was packed away, you couldn't find the strength in your legs to bring you up, and if you did what was the point in getting up, you had nowhere to go.

There was a scratchy feeling in your throat, and a wet rim around your eyes, a gentle hand stroked you on the head for a while then they lifted your chin. "Its going to be alright."

you shook your head "I can't see how things can get better from here. I have no place to live and I don't make enough money to rent a place to stay for the night.

Mello smiled "Is that all there is to worry about? If you re looking for a place to stay, come crash with me for a while."

Before you even agreed, he began to pull you back towards the motorcycle and strapped your bags to the back.

You didn't object and rode in silence with him all the way across town to where he lived.

He set your luggage in the common room, while you looked around the dimly lit place

"Sorry its kind of messy and smells of smoke. I share this place with my partner Matt and he's a heavy smoker and-"

The door slammed and a tall red haired guy walked in, he had a cigarette between his teeth and goggles around his eyes.

"I was just talking about you, Matt." Mello said casually to him.

"Who is that?" he asked Mello

"A new roommate."

Matt walked up to you and he almost seemed pissed off

"So I'm supposing you'll be wanting my bedroom or something like that, right?" You were kind of taken back by his comment

You shrugged "Not really. I can take the couch, so you and Mello don't have to give up your rooms."

Matt's face looked confused, Mello laughed and punched Matt on the chest

"You are so damn stupid." and Matt punched him back jokingly as well.

Between the two of them, you couldn't tell who was better looking.

It was decided that you would stay in the living room, with arrangements comfortably made for you so that Matt and Mello could keep their rooms.


	2. Chapter 2

The first night of your new setting you couldn't sleep.

There were sounds of videogames coming from Matt's room and flashings coming from Mello's room, seemingly from a TV monitor so some kind.

You went to grab some water and sat at the counter, reading over your textbook for your university exams soon.

You were really getting into it when the sound of a door creak drew your attention, Mello appeared in the kitchen without a shirt on.

He stretched and yawned "Couldn't sleep?"

you nodded "How about you? Same?"

He went to the fridge and grabbed a chocolate bar "Not exactly, I'm still working."

"Working? What do you do?" you asked.

He smirked "Its one of those things where if I told you, I would have to kill you."

Mello laughed at your expression "Are you beginning to wonder what you got yourself into?"

"Somehow I already knew what I was getting myself into." Mello took a bite out of his chocolate

"I can tell that you and Matt aren't from around here, what brings you to Japan?"

He leaned back on the counter right next to you "Business." he replied.

"Business from where?"

"England."

He seemed eager to change the subject, he closed your textbook to view the cover

"You're a university student right? What's your major?" he asked.

"Crime Investigation major and psychology minor." Mello's eyes seemed to spark

"Have you had experience with the course as well?" you asked him.

He smirked again "Somewhat." he answered.

"Lets change the subject." he suggested

"Tell me about how you came to be in this predicament." you laughed at his phrasing

"Well how much do you want to know?" you asked.  
"As much as you're willing to tell me."

"Its not much to tell really. My mom died when I was a kid and my dad remarried. My step mom was this really cruel woman, and she hated me, like all step moms hate their daughters. So naturally I hated her too, and when I turned sixteen, I rebelled against her and my father. I skipped school to go out and drink, smoke. I got pierced and tattooed and I was just really bad." you stopped to laugh at this

"But then, she got pregnant and she told my father she didn't want me around, I was bad influence. And he thought it was best as well. So they kicked me out and I spent the rest of high school and college living at that little apartment, working from dead end jobs. And then you found me."

Mello finished his chocolate bar listening to you

"Come to think of it, why did you do me a favor?" you asked.

He smiled "Believe it or not, you reminded me of myself at the same age."

"I guess we're more alike then I thought."

Mello checked the time on the wall "I should be heading back to work as should you."

You agreed with him and with a quick good night, he headed to his room and you stayed, watching his door.

The next morning you took your first exam.

It was rather hard to keep awake during the exam, from your lack of sleep, but the concepts were easy and you were in no doubt that you had passed.

You were talking about it with a couple of friends after the exam.

"Where were you today? I was waiting for you outside your apartment, but the landlady told me you moved out."

"Not really moved out, more like kicked out." you said.

Your friend looked at you shocked "Kicked out? Where did you spend the night? Why didn't you call me earlier?" she asked,

you shrugged "Its not big deal, I found a place to stay."

Her curiosity spiked "Where? And with whom?"

"A friend of mine."

"Is he a boy?" she asked

you rolled your eyes "Why does it always have to be a guy."

She was looking ahead at the a person standing by the entrance to the university.

He wore a leather jacket and a maroon scarf around his neck looking normal as everyone else, yet standing out as the most handsome man on campus.

You walked over to him and as soon as he saw you, he grabbed your hand and pulled you along, not even leaving you any time to say goodbye to your friends.

"Mello where are we going?" you asked as he walked briskly down the street.

"I just wanted to take you out to eat. Congratulations on finishing your exams." He said.

"You're taking me out to eat, but really I should be treating you, you did offer me a place to stay so I could study properly for my exams. I couldn't thank you enough. If there's anything I could do to repay you, I would do it."

Mello smirked at you "Well now that you do mention it, there is one thing you could do for me. A small favor."

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small plain box "I need you to deliver this to a friend of mine, his name is Near, he works in that building right there."

Mello pointed to a tall glass building with bulking security guards at the doors.

"And do I say its from you?" you asked.

"No, I would rather you not disclose that. Just drop off the package and leave. I'll meet you at the restaurant around the corner."

he put on his sunglasses and walked towards the corner.

Although you felt something was weird here, you didn't bother to question it. Mello was kind, he took you in when you didn't have a place to stay, this was the least you could do to repay him.

You got into the building without any trouble and simply dropped the box off without giving the receptionist a name, it was as easy as that.

You met Mello at the designated place, he was drinking a warm cup of hot chocolate with a smidge of cream on his face.

You wiped it off and licked your fingers "Delicious." you smirked

Mello smiled "Did you deliver it with no problem?"

You nodded "Since I have completed your task will you tell me what it is I just delivered to this person, Near?"

Mello gave you that smirk again and you didn't ask anymore questions "I get it, if you told me you could have to kill me."

"You catch on pretty fast."

"Well tell me something about yourself. I would like just to know a little bit more about you. Tell me about where you come from, tell me about your friendship with Matt, tell me about your girlfriends." you said

You thought Mello smiled into his hot chocolate before he turned back to you "I don't have any girlfriends, I've never had any girlfriends."

"Ever?" you asked.

"Ever." he said

"I find that hard to believe." you said.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because to me, you almost seem perfect I guess. You're kind, attractive, brave and smart. Smarter than I can grasp probably, and you have a style about you that I can't describe that makes me like you almost instantly."

You immediately realized your slip up and tried to cover it up

"Oh, I meant people! I meant people liked you, not just me specifically-"

you stopped yourself, turning red under Mello's smug blue eyes.

The rest of the meal, Mello watched you eat while he sipped his hot chocolate, and it was a battle of how much you could keep your embarrassment down from your previous slip up.

When the two of you had gotten home, you realized that Matt was not yet back yet.

"Where is Matt?" you asked simply.

Mello shrugged and took off his leather jacket, his arms rippled with lean muscle, you tried not to stare.

"By the way, what does Matt do anyways?"

"The same job as me."

You nodded "Oh I see, of course he does."

Mello started towards his room "Have the first shower, I'll be in my room, come get me when I'm done."

And he disappeared into his room.

While you were taking a shower, you imagined all the scenarios that could be possible.

Could they work for the mafia? Perhaps they were runaways from England, that's why they used code names.

Or maybe, they could be on some top secret case to bring down a top criminal like Kira or something.

After your shower, you went to get Mello, only to find him asleep in front of the computer.

"Mello, I'm done now, go take a shower." But he only groaned and turned his back to you.

Not wanting to bother him anymore, you tucked him into bed, but your curiosity got the best of you and you had to look to see what kind of "work" he was actually into.

Across the screen of the computer was a bunch of codes, like he was trying to hack something, but what?

Checking once more to make sure Mello was asleep, you grabbed the laptop with you into the living room and sat down and began your own work.


	3. Chapter 3

You must have fallen asleep finishing Mello's work because you woke up to the sound of rapid keyboarding near you.

On the floor leaning against the couch which you were sleeping on, Mello was madly typing away.

You gently grazed Mello's shoulder with one finger and he turned around

"I'm sorry for messing with your work. I was trying to help." you whispered.

Mello tried to look a little bit annoyed but his demeanor cracked

"Well you are absolutely brilliant. And if you have much free time, I would love to have your help further."

You sat up quickly "Really? You mean it? I mean I haven't even gotten my degree yet, I'm not even sure I'm any good."

"A piece of paper with fancy letters on it means nothing to me. Are you willing to help me or not?" Mello stood up and stuck out his hand.

You almost shook his hand but then retreated "If I'm going to help, will you tell me what you're working on? How am I suppose to blindly work and not know where we're going with this?"

"In due time you'll find out, but for now you'll have to trust me." Mello said.

You were even more skeptical now, Mello saw your indecisiveness and in one quick move he pushed you down onto the couch once more.

Without a warning he lowered his lips onto your neck as you squirmed.

He finished with a smirk and you clasped your hand over your neck where he left a huge hickey.

"I'll get your answer on this deal when that goes away." he said

You could not even string together words to say anything back to him.

He smiled "I think I'll go take that shower now."

Mello's mark remained on you even after you had decided to help out Mello and Matt on their secret case, you had almost gotten used to looking at it, but you wore collar shirts and scarves mostly so Matt wouldn't see it and question you.

You were playing on the laptop as usual when without warning, the scarf around your neck was yank off.

"Come on now, I can't do anything about that damn mark, so can't I at least cover up!"

As you were turning around, your faces were just so close.

Mello smirked "Humor me, its my birthday."

For a while you weren't sure if he was just kidding or if he actually meant it, but it seemed unlike something that even Mello would joke about.

"What? Its your birthday, you're not even going to do something special?" you asked.

Mello jumped over the couch and took the laptop off your lap and laid it on the table. He laid his head on your lap and looked up at you

"it's the first birthday I have spent without Matt. And I just don't feel like celebrating."

"it's the first birthday you're spending with me, I want to make it special. We'll do anything your heart desires."

Mello smiled and sat up with a wide smirk "well if you so insist."

His hand glided over the mark on your neck, then up to your face.

Then he stopped "Don't look so scared, I was only joking."

"Did I look scared?"

"Petrified."

"Next time you have to warn me!"

you went to hit Mello but he grabbed your hand

"Lets get out of here."

He pulled you to your feet, and you were about to protest, but you stopped yourself. For a little while, you could at least humor him.

The entire night he took you out to see the city. It was a lot of him riding, you with your hands around his waist, neither of you talking, and an air of peacefulness that the both of you could agree on.

Afterwards he took you to a nice dinner at a cozy little restaurant where he knew the owners, a nice old married couple.

He introduced you to them as his girlfriend, and placed his hand over yours on the table.

"Play along, the owners here are the first people I met when I got out of England. They're nice to me and think of me as their son, it would make them happy to see you with me."

So you let him touch your hand on the table and you let him tenderly touch your face and you let him call you sweet names till the point when you weren't even sure if this was real or just an act.

The couples charade ended as soon as the both of you walked around the corner and out of sight. You let go of his hand, and he placed them inside his pocket.

"You couldn't even stand it for one more minute longer, I see." He said.

"My hands are just sweaty." you said, just to have a valid excuse.

Mello laughed and put his hand over your shoulder "then you should be fine with this right? Lets go."

You walked a couple blocks down and heard the vibrations of a deep bass and the music pounding in the air

"And now we're going clubbing?" you asked confused.

Mello smiled "A couple of friends invited me. What's the harm in checking it out."

You thought that to yourself over and over again because in the first couple of minutes you had lost Mello.

This place was unlike any kind of club you had been to. Almost everyone here seemed to have guns on them.

There was a lot of leather and tattoo and the smell of cigarette smoke filled the air, almost felt like some kind of mafia hangout.

You finally found Mello in a corner of the room talking to a big man surrounded by bodyguards.

Whatever they were talking about seemed confidential, and pretty serious, then after they were done, they finished a whole handle of alcohol between the two of them.

The important looking man left with just his bodyguards, and as soon as he did, a bunch of girls surrounded Mello.

They put their legs on him and touched his face and hair and kissed him all over and one even tried to go lower on him.

To the one that was kissing him on the neck, he lifted her face and kissed her.

And for some reason, you just couldn't take it anymore, like something ripped you away from the scene of Mello kissing someone else.

"What's wrong, a pretty girl like you not having a good time?" a stranger asked as you started towards the exit.

"I'm having a great time." you lied

"Doesn't seem like it, won't you have a dance with me?" he asked.

Of course, whatever it took to make you feel like you were getting back at Mello.

He grabbed your hips and pulled you towards him, and you allowed him to dance on you for a little while.

He danced well and the few times you could catch glimpses of his face in the dim lighting, he was rather cute.

"How about a kiss?" he suddenly asked out of the blue.

You thought about the way Mello was kissing the other girls, it must be okay for you too, it wasn't like you two were dating or anything.

The guy went in for the kiss but before he could, he flew back into a table.

Arms suddenly came wrapping around you protectively, and you didn't even have time to react.

Looking back, it was Mello, he kissed you on the cheek roughly and you could smell the alcohol on his breath "There you are babe, I've been looking for you." he said.

You dragged him out of the club quickly before the other guy could regain composure.

Outside, it was clear that Mello had a little too much to drink.

"Looks like I'll be driving us home. Come on birthday boy, hold on tight." you said as you mounted his motorcycle.

You didn't have to tell him twice, he clamped his arms around your waist and nuzzled his face into your neck.

As soon as you got home, you noticed that Matt's car wasn't back yet. Before the engine of the motorcycle even shut off, Mello stumbled off the bike and began walking in a skewed direction towards the house.

"Wait let me help you." you said as you tried to keep Mello from falling.

"I'm fine." he said

"Clearly not! You just threw some guy into a table!"

"He deserved that. He tried to kiss you. No one is allowed to kiss you but me." he said as he leaned against the side of the apartment.

You grabbed his arm and put it over your shoulder

"You say that, and you're the one making out with other girls right in front of me."

"What? I would never do that, Kaori, I would never do that." he mumbled.

"Sure, whatever you say."

But he kept mumbling it over and over again, even after you had hulled his limp body into the apartment.

"Just take off your shoes." you said to him

"I don't want to, because you don't believe me."

You sighed and proceeded to taking them off for him

"Not only are you lying, you're also a child. Come on I'll get you to bed."

At the foot of his bed just as you were about to lay him down, he stumbled over a bit of blanket on the ground and took you down to the bed with him.

"Mello, you drunk! Get off of me!" you protested

But the more you protested the more he seemed to overpower you, Mello was ontop of you now with his forehead pressed against yours

"I really don't want you to kiss other guys that aren't me. If you were ever to kiss another guy that wasn't me, I would have to kill them. No one is allowed to kiss you but me."

Then for the first time, Mello kissed you. It was a tender kiss, but it grew more passionate and eager with every breath you took.

Then Mello stopped, his hand glided over the mark on your neck, then traced down your collarbone, then he stopped as before.

"This time, I am warning you. Just tell me to stop, because if you don't I will-"

"Don't stop." you said

A smile played on Mello's lip as he started to kiss your neck and his hands started to feel for your curves.


	4. Chapter 4

You woke up with the sun in your eyes and an acute soreness in your body.

"You woke up already? No, go back to sleep, its still early." Mello said as he played with your hair.

You groaned and wrapped your body more closely around him

he smiled "Well if you're up now, are you hungry?"

You smirked and grabbed his face "I have a craving."

And you kissed him as he kissed you last night.

"Slow down there, the day is just beginning. We have all the time in the world to do that. First let me go get you something to eat."

he got out of bed and stretched and you watched as his shoulder muscles just rippled in front of you.

He quickly got dressed while you watched and he turned to leave.

You sat up in bed with the blankets wrapped around you and he turned around, next minute you knew, he was suffocating you with a sweet sweet kiss

"I won't be long. Just stay here, okay?" you nodded

"Come back soon." He let his hand glide over your face then he left, and you waited until the roar of the motorcycle was no longer audible, then you got out.

You slipped on your undergarments and some small shorts and grabbed one of Mello's black T-shirts off the ground and slipped it on.

At the kitchen, you went to the fridge and took out a carton of milk and poured yourself a glass. Before the cup even touched your lips, the windows shattered and the door broke down.

Armed men surrounded you and in no time they had you tied up on your knees.

"What is this! What is going on!" you questioned while struggling to get free.

"Kaori Shirane, we have a warrant for your arrest for implanting illegal bugs and hacking into confidential government files."

Before you could question it any further, they gagged you, blindfolded you, and threw you into the back of a metal truck.

You remembered being taken out of the truck forcefully and walked down a cold hallway without any shoes.

When you opened your eyes next, you were strapped to a chair and your hands were handcuffed to the armrest.

In front of you sat a little boy with dark eyes and white hair. He was wearing all white as well, playing with a strand of hair with his knees tucked in front of him.

"What am I doing here? You know you have the wrong person right? I did nothing wrong!"

"Did you not come to this very building and drop off this package addressing it for me, with a bug inside?"

A bodyguard placed the exact box on the table with the bug inside, laying next to a toy doll.

"I had no idea that would be inside!" you defended "Of course you didn't Ms. Shirane. And I suppose it also wasn't you who hacked into all our computers."

"That was me, but I didn't know it was your computer or anything that was of importance. I don't even know you!" you snapped.

"My name is Near, I am in charge of the current Kira investigations, I'm sure you are aware, since you are a recently graduated student in this field of study."

"I know what the Kira case is, but I am not working on it, I did not knowingly hack into your computers and I didn't intentionally bug your office. This is all a big misunderstanding." you said.

"I'm sure that's how Mello would like it to seem. How clever of him, to use an innocent girl like yourself. He sure has stooped to a new level." Near mumbled to himself.

"What?" you asked.

"Did he not talk about me? I'm his arch enemy. We both came from the same orphanage in England called Whammy House, and we came to Japan solely to solve the Kira case. Only difference is that I do it legally, he does it otherwise, like using you."

"He's not using me! Stop saying that!"

"You naïve girl. Why else would he take you in and treat you like a princess. Did you think he loved you or something?"

"You're lying to me! Mello would never do that to me!" you said, starting to feel panicked and doubtful.

Your thoughts ran wild in your mind, you had always wondered about his motives, and had wondered why he treated you as he did.

But the answer you had always hoped, was that he cared about you, like no one else ever did before.

"He lied me!" you screamed as you kicked the table over.

The bodyguards swarmed over and protected Near as you started to cry and started to fight the bonds holding you down.

Near came over to you and patted you on the head like a little dog

"There there, I'll forgive you, you didn't know any better. Let her stay in the nicer cell for tonight until I can think of what to do with her."

He left and you were dragged away to some isolated jail cell, and spent the coldest night of your life there.

The next morning, Near came back to get you

"How was your stay?" he asked, receiving no response from you.

"Fine, you don't have to talk. All you have to do is just listen. I have gone over your files, and you may be of some use to me. I would like you to join the SPK with me and four other people."

Again you gave no response

"Be like that, I just thought you could use this opportunity to hit Mello where it hurts most. You see its all just a game, make him lose and he'll really be the one suffering. So what do you say?"

That was all you needed to hear

"I'm in." you whispered.

Near had his bodyguards release you from the cell and uncuff you and took you to your new room to change and shower hastily, you were just too eager to be in this case.

As soon as you stepped foot into headquarters, Near looked up and said "by the way, we're going to LA."

Near kept you close to his side for the next couple months when the two of you began working in LA.

The more you got to know him, the more you thought he was the opposite of Mello in almost every way.

Mello as you could remember was always so warm, he had a beating heart, though you doubted Near did. And Mello was always shielding you from the secrets of the Kira case, while Near just threw you into it.

You had just done the work Near had told you to do, and asked to go on a quick coffee break.

"No, Kari, stay with me, it'll be safer that way." Near said.

Kari, it was what Near started calling you, insisting you needed a nickname for this type of work. It was fitting, it was close to your real name, Kaori, ironically it was also a letter swap away from Kira.

"Kari, come sit with me over here." Near said tapping the ground where he was seated.

"Near, are you scared?" you asked, because almost all of Near's body guards were around the building, not by his side except for you.

"No, he won't hurt me, I know he won't."

Before you could question who Near was referring to, the doors opened and a hooded person was standing there with four additional people as backup.

You immediately recognized one of the people as Matt, so it meant the person in the hood was

"Mello."

He hook off his hood and proceeded into the room with Matt while the others swarmed around him heading for Near.

Out of panic, you pulled out your guns "Don't get any closer to him!" you threatened.

The two on the right and the two on the left froze.

"Didn't I fucking tell you idiots, we're not here for him." Mello said.

"You're not welcome here. Leave before I have to hurt you." you said confidently.

Mello's expression suddenly became very sad, it almost surprised you.

"Hearing you say something like that has already hurt me."

He walked towards you and you pointed a gun at him, arms length away from you

"Please do not get away closer to me." you said voice shaking.

"I expected it to be like this, I expected you to hate me. But please listen to me."

"How can you even understand how hurt I am, how much I hate you! You took advantage of me! You used me and than you just drop me, like I meant nothing at all. You knew, you knew that no one had never treated me right my entire life. And just when I thought you might be the someone to save me from that life, you betrayed me like the rest of them."

your hands shook and you felt your voice quivering "How am I suppose to trust you again after that?"

"Do you think you will be so easily forgiven, you did frame her and then leave her to rot. You have four more minutes before my people come for you." Near said.

Mello gritted his teeth, ignoring Near as best his anger would allow him, he took a step closer to you.

"If you get any closer to me, I won't hesitate to shoot you." you warned.

Mello grabbed your gun and pointed it over his heart "Than you might as well shoot me now, because I'm not leaving here without you."

"Why should I even consider leaving here without you! You have done noth-"

"Its because I love you!" He swatted the gun out of your hand and pulled you close to him.

"And if you don't love me anymore, I don't know what I'll do. I can't sleep without you in my arms, I can't think without seeing your face in my mind, nothing I do will matter anymore unless I have you by my side. Kaori, please forgive me."

Voices and footsteps could be heard converging at the meeting room "We have to go now!" Matt said, leading the others towards the exit

"Kaori, come with me." Mello pleaded with his hands on your face.

For a little while, you considered it, "I'm sorry, but I won't, I need to be here with Near to find Kira." you said as you took his hands off your face.

He held your hands for a while "You're wrong, I'll be the one to find Kira, just you watch."

He let your hands slip out of his "If you won't go with me, this will be our goodbye, Kaori Shirane." He put on his hood and ran out with the others.

The second later, the room was filled with agents all surrounding Near.

He sighed as his house of cards fell "All this fusing." he mumbled.


	5. Chapter 5

After your encounter with Mello you would not forget the last words he said to you

"I'll be the one to find Kira, just you watch. If you won't go with me, this will be our goodbye Kaori Shirane."

You must have been zoning out because you did not hear Near calling you "Kari, have you looked over the files I have given you?"

"Yes, Near I have finished."

Near started to say something else, but the rest of the SPK ran in frantically "Near! You're right! He's really doing it!"

Near merely sighed "Always letting his damn emotions getting in the way."

"Near, what has happened?" you asked.

"I'm debating whether I should tell you or not." he mumbled.

As soon as he said that, you already had a feeling what he might say next.

"You see, Kari, that Mello of yours just got himself into some kind of trouble."

Near turned on the monitor, playing out of the screen were swat team agents surrounding a warehouse and rapid gunfire going on inside.

"He's in there isn't he." you said.

Near started playing with a piece of his hair "He's in there, with the death note and with Deputy Director Yagami and the police, I presume all his allies are already dead. Lets see how he'll get out of this one."

"This is crazy! Aren't you going to help him?" you said looking to Near for help

He didn't take his eyes off the screen "That would be completely inappropriate, technically although we're on the same team, to find Kira, Mello does it illegally, and therefore punishment will come sooner or later."

"Punishment by law, not by cruel inexplicable death. Are we really able to say we're for justice against Kira, but we will let something like this go on for a stupid notebook."

"Kari, I'm beginning to wonder where your loyalties lie. Are you on the side of the law, where justice is carried out, or are you on the side of the criminals and law breakers, just because your heart tells you that you love one of them."

You smiled "Its not as hard of a decision to make as you would like it to be. And I think you already know what I've decided Near."

By the time you had gotten to the warehouse, the warehouse wasn't there anymore, it was nothing but ash and broken stones.

"No, no, no!" you chanted to yourself as you began to churn up the rubble, trying to find something that would tell you if Mello was alive or not.

"Please, just give me something. Please let me know that you're not dead." you whispered, fighting back tears and the panic.

From the corner of your eye, you caught sight of a glimmer. Looking towards the direction where it came from, you saw a cross, attached to beads on a necklace.  
It was no mistake, it was Mello's rosary beads. This could only mean one thing

"Hes not dead" you whispered to yourself.

A groan came from the planks near you, you quickly ran towards them and removed them to see who wad under

"Mello!" you screamed.

But it wasn't him, instead it was a person from the mafia, whom you recognized.

"You saved me! You saved me!" he said happily.

"You're damn right I did." you lifted up Mello's necklace.

"This belongs to someone very dear to me. And I'm sure you know who the owner is. Tell me where he is."

"Mello? Hes dead."

You slapped him across the face "I know for a fact hes not. Tell me where he is, or else I don't have a problem leaving you right where I found you!"

"But hes dead, I swear hes dead!"

Your patience was running low, out of your boot, you pulled out a gun

"Hes not dead. Tell me where he is or else I'm going to blow your brains out. Three seconds, two seconds, one-"

"He knows! Not me!" The scared man pointed to someone behind you in a red car, as soon as they saw you, they started to drive away quickly.

You ran to your car and pursued him in a full on car chase through the city.

At some point, you pulled out your gun and started shooting at him, but you couldn't get him, only parts of his windows and windshields.

He drove out of the city and you continued to follow him until you saw an opportunity to end it right here.

You yank off into a side alley way so he thought you had given up, but actually you had taken a short cut and gotten ahead of him, you swerved in front of the man's car and when he braked even a little, you shot his two front wheels, he grinded to a halt and threw up a cloud of dust.

When the dust cleared, you had your gun ready at the other guy, and him to you.

"You?"

"It was you!"

You dropped your gun and ran into Matt's arms

"You're alright, you're alive!" you said as you inspected him.

"Of course I'm fine. What are you doing here, aren't you with Near now?"

"I quit working for Near, I can't do it anymore, I needed to see him." you said anxiously taking Matt's hands.

He laughed "He's alright. Surprisingly that little stunt he pulled, didn't end up killing him, lucky bastard. He's resting at a secret hideout, a little banged up, but he's alive."

You took Matt back to their hideout since you blew the tires to his own car.

As soon as you pulled up to their place, you ran out the car, not even bothering to turn the engine off.

Inside the apartment was dark, and there seemed to be only one light on coming from down the hall.

You followed the light into the kitchen, where the countertop had multiple glasses of water, pain killers strewn everywhere, and chocolate bars, both eaten and not.

Mello was leaning his weight against the countertop, and he groaned as he reached for a glass of water and popped a painkiller into his mouth.

His left eye was bandaged over and so was his left shoulder and around his ribs, he wasn't wearing a shirt and you could clearly see scratches and bruises he had sustained from the last mission

You stepped into the kitchen, before him, and he stared you right in the eye before he looked away.

"Hallucinations, I didn't know these would be side effects of the medicine." he said to himself.

He looked at you again "And of course it would be you who would appear before me, this is too cruel."

"I'm not a hallucination." you said and walked up to him

"Of course you would say that to me. I don't even know why I'm talking to you now, you're not Kaori. She's never coming back to me." he said, but still he leaned in closer to your face

You placed your hands on either sides of his face "Tell me I'm not real now. Its me, and I'm here to forgive you, to be by your side, and never to leave you again. So promise me you'll never do anything so reckless again."

Mello swung his arm around your waist and put his hand on the back of your head, bringing you closely into his body.

When he had validated that it was you, in person, not a hallucination, he sank his hand onto your shoulder and you felt a wetness on your shoulder and his shoulders shuddering.

It was just too much for words

After Mello had gotten over his surprise of you voluntarily coming back to him, there was much to say between the two of you.

You probably spent the whole night just in his lap on the couch talking about him and talking about you.

"Do you really forgive me for what I did earlier, framing you and letting Near arrest you? Because I really didn't mean for it to turn out like that, it started out that way, before my feelings for you made me regret the whole thing, and by than it was too late."

"If I didn't forgive you, I wouldn't be here would I? Now say that last part again, about your feelings for me." you smirked

Mello laughed "The part where you made me like you more than I planned, by the cute way you smirk at me and tease me, the attitude and smarts, the face, the body…"

He stopped himself "The feelings are always getting in the way of work. The one thing about me that Near is right about."

You placed your foreheads together and left a minuscule space between your lips "You say it like they're a bad thing. But is it really? You have me, someone who loves you with her whole heart and soul. Can Near say he knows what that feels like? Near is the one you should be feeling sorry for."

Mello grabbed your face and kissed you "Ms. Kaori Shirane, you have utterly taken every single part of my heart, my love."

He was about to kiss you again, but you placed your fingers on his lips

"Also, you're going to have to stop calling me Kaori now."

"And why is that?" Mello asked with an amused look on his face

"Well you and Matt have alias, so I need one too. How is it fair that I don't know your real name, yet you can just say mine so freely?"

"Fair enough, so what will I call you?" Mello asked

"When I was working with Near, he gave me a new name, and I guess its kind of grown on me. From now on, you have to call me Kari."

Mello simply nodded "Very well than, it'll be Kari from now on, until we catch Kira. And when that day comes, I'll wear out your real name, by saying it to you again and again and again."

"I'll agree to that, only if you'll tell me your real name. Its something I've always wanted to know, even if I can't call you by your real name now, I would like to know it for my memories." You said.

A smile spread on Mello's face almost as if he was waiting for you to ask him that question for a long time

"Mihael Keehl" he said.

You started to say it, but Mello kissed you over the lips

"Save it for when that day comes, when we are free to call each other by our names as we wish."

You laid your head on his chest and curled up tightly into him "Yes, until that day."


	6. Chapter 6

While you were still sleeping, you heard gasping and sounds of pain coming from the bathroom.

Patting the other side of the bed, you found it was empty

In the bathroom, Mello was taking off the bandages over his left ribs and left shoulder in front of the mirror.

He saw you in the reflection "Sorry did I wake you?" he asked turning around.

You couldn't take your eyes off the raged scars that ran all over his body

"Does it still hurt too badly?" you asked.

"Its bearable I guess"

You traced your hand along the burn and he flinched and grabbed your hand

"Cold water will soothe the burn." you said

He went to the shower, turned on the faucet to the cold water and got in, just sitting down in the tub letting the cold water soak him down to the bone.

Something about him just sitting there, letting the water rain down on him, made it feel very sad to you.

He touched the bandage over his left eye and his hand fell down again and he sighed

Without another word, you climbed into the tub and sat down between his legs, the water plastering your clothes to your body.

Mello just looked at you and you smiled "Here, let me help you with that."

Carefully, you placed one hand on his face and began unwrapping the bandaging over his left eye with the other hand.

He stayed very still until you had removed it all, then he looked away from you

"I wish you didn't have to look at this, this hideous scar on my face."

You turned his face back to you "What do you mean? I find it pretty sexy. I like it, you look like such a badass."

Kissing his the scar along his face, it felt rugged against your lips.

But finally getting to his lips, so soft.

Sitting here in the cold shower with Mello had numbed your body until now, when you felt everything, like his hand moving wet hair from your face.

"You're cold as ice. You're going to catch a cold." Mello turned off the cold water and draped a towel over your head as you got out of the tub.

As you pretended to wipe your hair, you stole glimpse of Mello to see the jagged scar on his body, next to his abs, on his tones shoulder, and you couldn't help but blush, it was very attractive indeed.

When you met his eyes, you could see he was looking at you too, you looked down and saw that your clothes were drenched and see through.

"Staring at a girl with see through clothes, what a perverted person." you said jokingly

Mello came over and bent down to eye level with you "its not like I haven't seen it all before." he said glancing over your body.

"Fine, if you've seen it all before, then you won't mind not looking at me while I undress over here." you said as you headed to the closet and started stripping down.

Deliberately trying to tease Mello, you did it slowly and glanced over your shoulder occasionally, and he only smiled and came over to wrap a warm towel around you.

"Don't catch a cold now just trying to please me." He said and kissed you on the forehead before leaving the room.

It always made you feel warmest when seeing Mello's sweet side.

Rummaging through your clothes, Mello's rosary beads fell out of one of your tops, you had meant to return it to him, but didn't have time until now.

After getting dressed, you saw Mello on the couch and draped the necklace around his neck.

"Is this my necklace?" he asked.

You nodded "I thought you might be missing it."

He looked at it for a few minutes "This is suppose to be my good luck charm, but seeing what happened, it wasn't very lucky for me."

Mello took off his necklace and put it on you instead

"It probably works better for you, since it helped you find me."

You held it in your hand "I'll treasure this, this is the first gift you have ever given me."

Before you came, Mello seemed to be working on something on his laptop, but as soon as you looked at it, he closed it.

"Well don't stop working just for me." you said

"Come here." Mello said as he opened his arms to you.

You sat on his lap with your arms around his neck, and gave him a small kiss.

He smiled and hugged you tightly "What would you say to taking some time off the whole Kira thing and spend some time together, just the two of us."

"Like a vacation?" you asked all excitedly

He nodded "Just like a vacation."

"Why all of the sudden?" you asked.

"I guess I just want to spend all the time with you as I can, and to make up for the months when Near had you away from me."

"As nice as that sounds, but this case can't wait. We need to solve this-"

"It can wait, but I can't." Mello said.

You didn't question it anymore, Mello was almost begging you not to, so you agreed.

Mello told you that Matt would be doing some solo investigating by himself back in Japan, so it would be just the two of you alone here.

Like any other young couple madly in love, with time to yourselves, the both of you teased each other a lot, fought on occasions, and had food fights more than too often.

But the nights, were passionate and rough, hot like a summer's breath, filled with so much wanting of one another and not enough time to do it all.

Meals were eaten in laughter, the food was often undercooked, overcooked, just about anything that wasn't just right, but that didn't matter, it was still just as good because it was made by each other.

There became places that the both of you liked to go, always went, and places the other went when they were mad at the other.

No two day was the same, each day was something new, another adventure to be had, another story to be told.

Never did you love someone as much as this.


	7. Chapter 7

You were laying on your stomach with your eyes closed, sleepiness calling you back to sleep, while smooth fingers traced the tattoo outline on your lower back.

He was laying on his side, blocking the sun from the window with his body, leaning on his other hand, just looking at you.

The phone rang and Mello took it off the bed stand and answered it

"I understand, we'll see each other soon then." he said before he hung up.

"Was that Matt?" you asked

He nodded "Is it time to go now?" you asked.

"Come on now, don't sound so sad, we'll go back to Japan and we'll just do what we do here, there. Its not so bad."

"Anywhere you are, will be alright with me." Mello touched your face and smiled

"Damn it now, I guess I'll have to once again share you with everyone else." you pushed him off of you and rolled out of bed

"Stop trying to flatter me with sweet nonsense, we have packing to do."

"Did it work?" Mello asked with a smirk

You were almost reluctant to answer his smug question "Yes."

At the airport, you and Mello ended up taking different flights to avoid suspicion and remain on the down low.

He took an earlier flight than you that took a detour to Hawaii before stopping in Japan, while you took a later one that made no stops.

As soon as you landed back home, you couldn't help but smile, remembering the familiar air and weather and familiar words.

But more exciting to be home was seeing the familiar faces of Mello and Matt together eating chocolate and smoking, leaning on the hood of Matt's car.

You immediately ran into Mello's arm, and took in his scent, your face cooled against his leather jacket

"You act like you haven't seen me in days, did you really miss me that much?" Mello said smirking, you took the last chocolate square from his mouth

"you ego-maniac." you said.

More anticipated than seeing Mello was seeing Matt.

You ran to him and almost made him drop his cigarette

He lifted you and twirled you around "You are my hero for putting up with this one for so long." he said, pointing to Mello.

Matt touched your face "You look well, I'm glad."

"You too Matt." you smiled.

After all the reunions have been made, the three of you headed over to new headquarters and settled in there.

It was so familiar, smelling Matt's cigarettes, hearing the occasional break of Mello's chocolate bars, the smell of your coffee. And just like that, the three of you worked away into the night.

You must have fallen asleep at work, because you woke up in Mello's bed but him and Matt were nowhere to be seen.

You walked over to the door, but paused because you heard Mello talking to someone on the phone.

"So this can all be resolved with one name written in the notebook? Well than I guess if I don't do it no one will."

Then there was silence

"What did he tell you?" Matt's voice asked

"Matt, you've been a great friend all these years, you've always stood by my side. At Whammy's when everyone doubted me to be L's true successor, you always beat them up for me. You're a true friend.

"Why are you saying all of this?" Matt asked

"Whats about to happen now, is going to be the end of the case that killed L."

"That's great isn't it, but why do you look like you've just lost?"

There seemed to be a quiet exchange between the two of them that you could not see, but with the silence you knew what was to happen.

you couldn't take it anymore, just thinking about what Mello was about to do for this stupid case.

You opened the window, jumped to the ground below and took Mello's motorcycle for a joyride.

For some odd reason, you wound up at the nice little bar you used to work at when you and Mello first walked in.

You sat in the seat he sat at when he was here and even ordered the same drink, nothing to drown anger and frustration like the bittersweet taste of hard liquor.

As you were about to order your fifth round of shots, a hand on your shoulder stopped you "That's enough."

You spun around ready to punch them, but it was Matt.

He smiled and took your hand "Come with me."

He led you to the large water fountain in the back of the room and held your hand in his

"You heard it all didn't you." he asked

You nodded "Was he planning to tell me at all?"

"That's Mello, he doesn't like people to worry about him. Hes been on his own for as long as he's been alive. Finding someone like you who cares about him, he wants to treasure you as much as he can."

"Is that why we took a long vacation? So he can have his fill of me before he does something stupid to kill himself?"

"I guess it sounds bad if you put it like that."

"I can't take it anymore, it annoys me the way he acts sometimes." you said

"Even though you say that, are you willing to give someone else a chance to win your heart that isn't Mello?"

Why was he asking you this, you wondered. Matt squeezed your hand

"Kari, I've always wanted to tell you this for a long time, that I've always-"

"There are are." Mello said as he walked up to the two of you, you slipped your hand out of Matt's and walked up to Mello

He looked really worried and flustered "Goddamn it, why did you randomly sneak off like that? I hate it when you suddenly leave without saying anything, it makes me worried something happened to you."

He sighed "Give me your hand."

"Why do you need my hand?" you questioned.

He took your hand anyways "Think of this as a collar, so you can never disappear from my side ever."

And just like that, he slipped a diamond ring on your finger.

"Is this suppose to be some kind of proposal?" you asked unbelieving at the ring on your hand.

Mello admired it "I had planned to do it in a more romantic fashion. But it seemed like you have given me no choice."

You couldn't speak at all, no matter how much you tried

"Shall I take your speechlessness as a yes than?"

You grabbed Mello by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down and kissed him hard, he smiled into your kiss, but you couldn't smile back, because you knew now that no matter what, you wouldn't be able to part with him for any reason at all, not for Near and most certainly not for Kira.

The day of the big mission, you were pretending to be sleeping while Mello was sitting on the edge of the bed stroking your cheek and running his fingers over the cross tattoo on your back he liked so much.

His touch would have put you back to sleep again, but he stopped and the next time his hands touched your face, they were cold, leather, he was going now.

He planted a last kiss on your cheeks before heading out the door with Matt, you heard a car engine turn on and then the motorcycle started revving, and after a few minutes, they were gone.

As soon as you were Mello and Matt were gone, you threw off the covers and dressed yourself, loaded up your guns and headed out to find the one person who could help you.


	8. End

"Its been a while, Near." you said as you walked into his headquarters

He didn't turn around "I certainly didn't expect to see you again Kari."

"Didn't you now. Didn't you anticipate seeing me today?"

He turned around "I guess I had an inkling, you would come to me."

"So what's the plan, in what way does that moron plan to get himself killed to solve this case."

"I see here, you're going to try to be Mello's knight in shining armor, a rescue mission."

"That's exactly right." you said.

"And what makes you think I'll tell you about it?"

You kneeled down next to him on the ground "because he's your only friend, who volunteered to go on this suicidal mission just so you, Near, would have the glory of catching Kira and surpassing L. I know that, if you could, you would save him no matter what."

At first you doubted if Near would budge, but you must have hit some heartstrings because he agreed to help you.

"Before you leave, I have a present for you, Kari, it might prove useful on your mission."

Near's present turned out to be a top of the line brand new motorcycle, the fastest one yet.

First part of the mission was to help Matt, you spotted his car heading straight into a trap, you drove up close to his window

"Don't stop driving you're heading into a trap, I'm going to cover for you!"

"Kari, what are you doing here!"

No time to answer, you threw a loaded grenade ahead of you into the semi circle of police cars and it exploded immediately, forming cover to allow you and Matt get away.

You had hoped this would be enough to end it, but a few had escaped and had started chasing the both of you down

You took out your gun and shot a hole in your gas tank leaving a gas trail behind you, and when the time was right, you threw another grenade and ignited it, fired flared behind you.

The bike was out of fuel, so Matt drove up close and you rolled over the roof and into the passenger seat.

"Kari, you're crazy! Don't do that ever again!"

"Oh no Matt, don't thank me for saving your life!"

Out of the chaos of the flames, there were still a couple cars pursuing the two of you

You took out your guns and started opening fire on them, and they retaliated.

The back windshield broke, a car gave up pursuit, the front windshield shattered as well and than

"Kari you've been shot!" Matt screamed, but you couldn't look away, even though your arm stung.

One more shot, and the last car swerved out of control and gave up pursuit.

You sank down in your seat, clutching your arm.

"You idiot! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"Part one of my mission is complete. Now take me to Mello." you said.

"Mello wouldn't want me to do that." Matt said "I'm sorry Kari."

You pointed a gun to his head "Matt, I would have never imagined having to hold you at gunpoint. I'm going to save him and you're going to help me, or I have no problems pulling this trigger now."

"I just can't make you happy, can I?" Matt asked.

You lowered your gun, not sure what he meant by that "Alright, not doing it to save my life, doing it for both of my best friends." He said, looking at you through his goggles.

He told you the license plate number of the car Mello would be driving, when you saw it, you opened the car door jumped on over before Matt could even tell you to be careful. Then he drifted out of view.

You jumped into the drivers area of the truck where Mello was driving it

"Kari, what are you doing here!" he asked

"I'm rescuing you." you said before you grabbed the steering wheel and jerked the car off the side of the road.

It drove down a big steep hill and landed into the side of a old stone church building

All the glass windows broke and on the way down the hill and you cut your head on the glass.

Everything was starting to blur now, but you shook your head to get rid of it

Mello was also just starting to get oriented again

"Don't move." you said as you emptied out the barrel of the gun on the steering wheel next to him.

You heard Kiyomi Takada, Mello's prisoner in the back screaming to the gunshots

"Kari, are you crazy!"

"Matt asked me that too, but h'es fine now, don't worry you will be too."

"What are you doing here, getting yourself into this mess with me?" Mello asked, touching the gash on your forehead with shaky hands

"I'm getting us both out of this mess."

"How are you going to do that? Takada is going to write my name down on her piece of the death note."

You smiled "I'll take it from here, you've done enough."

As you tried to go to Takada, Mello grabbed your arm "You have to be careful." Mello said

"I know."

In the back, Takada was quivering and covering her head with the blanket when you came to get her

"Who are you?" she asked "Were those gunshots from you?" she asked.

You showed her your gun "Ms. Takada, don't be afraid. I've been on your trail since the kidnapping. I have killed the assailant. I hope the gunfire didn't scare you."

Takada ran to you and hugged you "Thank you for saving me."

You smiled and handed her the box with her clothes "Here you go Ms. Takada."

"Is my phone in here?" she asked as she madly scrambled for it

You handed it to her "It was in the kidnapper's pocket."

She thanked you, then looked at you suspiciously

"You can make your phone call in peace, I'll go outside to see where we are and if we can find help."

You left just as Takada dialed and called out "Light, its me."

You closed the truck and you made your own phone call.

"Near, its Kari, I did everything you said I needed to do. Takada's bodyguards were eluded and Matt is safe. Mello is safe as well, I faked Mello's death and now Takada is calling Light Yagami, the real Kira."

"Well done. The last thing I can ask you to do is to stick around to see what Takada will do next, that is all." then he hung up.

You went back to the front of the truck to check up on Mello, but he wasn't there anymore and started to panic

"Kari, I'm here, don't panic."

You turned around and flung yourself into Mello's arm partly because you were relieved to see him and partly because you didn't have the strength anymore.

Mello sensed it and picked you up and placed you against the wall of the trodden down building, and looked over your wounds.

"It really isn't as bad as it looks." you said with a smile.

"You've been shot." Mello said as he started to bandage up your arm

"What kind of a man am I, to let the person I love take a bullet for me, it should be the other way around."

"If we want to talk about feeling guilty. Remember the time that you came to Near, to take me back with you, and I said no, you stormed out with this sad look on your face and you said goodbye to me. That week, you went and did something stupid and got that scar on your face."

You traced the scar with your fingers and then touched the smooth skin on his cheek  
"And sometimes I can't help but wonder, if I left with you, would you have pulled that idiotic stunt and almost killed yourself. That's why, this time I couldn't stand back and do nothing anymore."

"How does it always end up this way, that one of us has to be near dying all the time?" Mello asked, with a tender smile his face

"After this whole thing, when your wounds are better, how about we get out of here?"

"Out of where?" you asked.

"Out of Japan. We'll go to England, where I'm from and we'll start new there. You'll get to meet Roger, whom watched over me, Matt, and Near as we grew up. And we'll visit the orphanage so you can see where I grew up. And then we'll get married and for always I'll be able to call you Mrs. Kaori Keehl."

"You better promise me!" you said, holding your pinky out for a pinky promise.

Mello laughed and grabbed your face and kissed you. "I promise with all my heart."

* * *

_And in the end Mello fulfilled everything he promised to you. _

_Kiyomi Takada committed suicide and set fire to the truck she was prisoner in and that proved Light Yagami' identity as Kira. _

_You and Mello heard about the news in England that the Kira case was now finally closed. _

_Roger had died just a couple of weeks after the case closed, happy that his most precious Near and Mello had finally worked together to solve a case even L could not solve. _

_After Roger's funeral, you and Mello became the proprietors of Whammy's house and started running it with new rules and guidelines Mello himself wrote, to better the lives and education of those living there. _

_The children really looked up to Mello because he himself was a former child at Whammy's and they called him daddy, and started calling you mommy after the wedding which they all attended, with Matt as well as Near. _

_Near invited Mello to be his partner, as their mentor had intended, and Mello agreed to the idea. The two of them solved many mysteries all over the world together. _

_Sometimes on extra hard cases, you would help Mello out by working him through the case or providing moral support when he was at his lowest, he called you his luck. _

_But most of the time, you stayed at Whammy's and watched over the children, trying to be a mother you never had to take care of you at their age._

* * *

You has fallen asleep on the porch swing while reading a novel when one of the little girls, Stephanie came and woke you up excitedly.

"Mommy, daddy is home from the case! Him and Near have done it again!"

You smiled and touched her lightly on the cheek

"Of course they have, daddy and Near are the best detectives of all time." the little girl nodded and dragged you to your feet.

At the front door before he could even fully walk in the door, the children were swarming him and he had no idea whom to turn his attention to.

You laughed at the sight "Welcome home, _daddy_." you said sarcastically.

He had grown up now, no longer wearing the tight leather he used to love, he had taken a liking rather to tight blazers ad suits. And he was wearing a maroon colored blazer, maroon tie with a black button down

You bit your bottom lip, you were never any less attracted to him since the day you two met, years ago.

He walked up to you with a smirk on his face and grabbed you by the waist

You pulled him by the tie down to your face "Oh, did Mrs. Keehl miss me that much?" he asked.

You couldn't help but smile "We've been married for how long now, and I still find myself smiling to myself when you call me that. That must mean I love you with all my heart, Mihael."

He pulled you closer to him and placed his head on your forehead "And that is still not as much as I love you, Kaori."

You yanked his tie further and he kissed you, like he always kissed you before, but this time, and every time, seemed to be the most passionate yet.


End file.
